Falling Stars
by Just Around the Corner
Summary: She Loved him so much, she left him...
1. Family Issues

Falling Stars  
  
It was their first Christmas Break out of Hogwarts. At the Grimmauld place, all of the current residents were gathered around the Christmas Tree, waiting for the stroke of midnight to rip open their carefully wrapped presents. Six Weasley brothers and one Weasley sister, along with two Weasley parents, one Harry Potter, one Tonks, one Lupin, one Moody and one Hermione sat, chattering eagerly.  
  
"Remember the Yule Ball during Fourth Year?" Fred laughed. "It was the grandest memory of my Hogwarts years, apart from Umbridge's face when we insulted her and flew out of the window."   
  
"It wasn't so great." Ron murmured.   
  
"That's because you allowed some Bulgarian git to get his hands on your girl." George said.   
  
"Oh, please!" Hermione scoffed. "He just asked me--"  
  
"Right, Hermione. We all know you did it just to tick Ron off." Fred rolled his eyes.  
  
"I did nothing of the sort!" Hermione said defensively. "If anything he ticked me off!"  
  
"I did not!" Ron said. "If you recall, I did ask you to the ball!"  
  
"Only after you'd been turned down by a bunch of beautiful girls that wouldn't be seen at the ball with you! You only got a date when Harry begged his date to find you one!"  
  
"She's got a point, Ron." Harry said, laughing.  
  
"Well you shouldn't have been so...so..." Ron stuttered. "So Hermione-ish!"  
  
Charlie chuckled. "That's a good one, Ron."   
  
"S'not my fault she chose to go with a stupid Bulgarian child molestor!"  
  
A pillow flew across the room to hit Ron square in the face. Harry laughed openly at Ron, who looked surprised that anything could hit him in the face, with all of the Keeper training he'd had.   
  
"Oh the pain!" He wailed, falling down, clutching his face. "Make it stop, Harry! She's hit me! I think I'll die!"  
  
Harry laughed. "Hermione, you cold-blooded fiend! How could you do that to Ron?"  
  
"Seriously, though." Ron said, getting up. "She's so thin and feeble, I'm surprised she could even lift the pillow."  
  
"Why you!" Hermione flared, getting up.  
  
"I mean, look at her neck! Like a toothpick! Sometimes I wonder how she gets food down it!"  
  
"Shut up, Ron Weasley! Shut up right now!" She said, trying to look angry despite her supressed laughter.  
  
"What are you going to do from over there, little woman?" He laughed.   
  
Hermione was across the room in two steps. It was impressive, considering the room was large enough to fit an entire Weasley family and then some. Hermione had a pillow gripped in his hand and she shoved it in Ron's face, laughing.  
  
"Take that, King Weasley!"  
  
"Argh! Hermione, stop! I can't breathe! Get off!" He laughed, pushing her off.  
  
"I don't care! Suffocate, damn you!" She laughed, even harder.  
  
"Naughty Hermione! Cursing?" He said, finally getting her off of him. "Sorry, Love, but I'm going to have to punish you for this deed."  
  
He shot his hands into her stomach and started to tickle her. She squirmed and writhed and kicked and screamed.   
  
"Damn you, stop moving!" He yelled.  
  
"Ron stop! Stop it now! I'll hex you! STOP!!" She screamed, laughing hysterically.   
  
"Hm." Lupin said, shaking one of his presents. "It sounds like there could be cookies in here. Or maybe--" There was the unmistakeable sound of glass shattering within the box. "Glass cookies?"  
  
Harry laughed.   
  
"Oh, Remus!" Tonks said, taking the box. "I spent good money on that!" Her hair flared a bright red.  
  
There was a loud strum in the background. Everyone was hushed as every clock chimed midnight. It was Christmas Day.   
  
Lupin had put a silencing charm on the portraits in the hall, so they wouldn't be able to hear the racket.  
  
Ron sat with a present in his lap, scratching his head.  
  
"Let's see, it's probably a book, considering it's from Hermione." He said to Harry, who was watching him. "But, why would she get me a book if we're out of school?"   
  
"It's not a book, Ron." Hermione said.   
  
Ron threw the present out of his lap and into Harry's arms.  
  
"It's a bomb! It's a bomb!" He shrieked, collapsing.  
  
"Oh, stop it!" Hermione laughed. "It's not a bomb or a book."  
  
"Well, now I'm scared." Ron said, taking the box back. "What else would Hermione Granger buy me besides a book or a bomb?"  
  
"Just open it, Ron!" Ginny said, impatiently.   
  
Ron threw the lid off of the box. His eyes opened wide with surprise and he stared down at what was in the box.  
  
"A pie?" He questioned.   
  
Suddenly, the pie flung up onto his face, as if by a spring on the bottom of it. Everyone was silent. They all stared at the pie that was stuck onto Ron's face. It was evident that he would have had a surprised look on his face if it was visible.  
  
Then, there was a surpressed giggle. Ron ripped the pie off of his face and wiped around his eyes.   
  
Hermione was shaking, in fits of laughter. She was laughing and laughing. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She held on to Harry's shoulder for support, and Harry looked at her like she was insane. Everyone just looked at her.   
  
"D-did Hermione Granger, just pull a joke and then laugh at it?" George said, scratching his head.   
  
"Dear God!" She screamed. "I can't breathe!"   
  
Then, like a virus, the laughter spread throughout the room. Hermione, the loudest of all. Ron was still wiping frosting off of his face.  
  
"Hermione, Love." He said calmy, when the laughter had died down. "Come here a second."  
  
"Make me!" She said, sticking her tongue out.   
  
"Come here you little--" he said, making a reach for her. Harry stood up, by some instinct.  
  
"No!" She shrieked.   
  
"Hermione Granger, come here right now!" Ron laughed.  
  
Harry stood between them, and was still laughing about Ron's face.   
  
Ron grabbed at her again and caught her arm.  
  
  
  
"Ahh! Harry, get him away!" Hermione shrieked, laughing insanely.  
  
"Your going to get this frosting off of my face one way or another!" Ron said, pulling her towards him. He took his hand, covered in frosting and stuck it on her face.  
  
"Ah! Get him away! Ginny, help!" Hermione said, struggling to get away.   
  
Ginny made no move to help Hermione, but instead turned to Percy, who was sitting next to her.  
  
"Aren't they cute together?" She asked him.  
  
Percy didn't answer, but turned away coldly, looking at his parents angrilly. "You know she's not--"  
  
"We know, Percy, dear." Mrs. Weasley said quietly. "And Ron knows. We just have to find the courage to tell him."  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Hermione and Ron were in the kitchen, cleaning up their faces. Hermione was giggling as she scrubbed her face.   
  
"Hermione..." Ron said.   
  
"Hmm..?"  
  
"You've changed, since first year."  
  
"Well, I suppose I have gotten a bit taller." She said.  
  
"No, no, that's not what I mean." Ron said. "I mean, you, your more beautiful."  
  
"Are you saying I was ugly?"  
  
"No, no, it's not that." Ron said smiling. "How long have we been together? I forget..."  
  
"Two years, six months, eleven days, four hours, two minutes and three seconds." Hermione sighed.   
  
"Oh, right." Ron sighed. "Hermione, I have to give you my Christmas present."   
  
"Oh, okay." She said, starting to go back into the living room.  
  
"No, it's not in there." Ron said. He put his hand in his pocket, blushing hard.  
  
"Is it in your room?" Hermione asked him.   
  
"Uh, no, it's in my pocket."  
  
Hermione stood there, looking at him. What could he fit in his pocket as a Christmas present? Maybe it was a Chocolate Frog? That would be just like good old Ron.   
  
He pulled out a ring box from his pocket. "Uh--" he stuttered.  
  
"That's an awfully strange place to put a chocolate frog." Hermione said, naivly, her heart pounding in her chest.  
  
"It's not a chocolate frog." He opened it and took out the ring.  
  
It was a beautiful ring. It was two strands of star shaped diamonds, weaved together into a braid. It looked like a rope, a rope of sparkling, glittering stars. Hermione looked at it oddly when he put it on her finger.  
  
Please let him put it on my ring finger, she thought to herself. Please, oh please!  
  
The ring was on her ring finger.  
  
"Er...marry me?" He managed to stutter.  
  
"Oh, Ron!" She sobbed. "You make me feel horrid!"  
  
Ron's eyes widened. Had he offended her? Was this her way of saying no?  
  
"I smack you in the face with a pie and you propose to me!" She said. "I'm sorry! Could I make it up to you?"  
  
Did she say yes, yet? Had he missed it?  
  
"You could, er, say yes." He said, awkwardly.   
  
Hermione looked at the ring thoughtfully. "How much did you spend on this thing?"  
  
BLOODY HELL, SAY YES ALREADY!   
  
"Er, I don't remember..."  
  
"Ron!" Hermione said. "You aren't exactly rich, from that new job you have. How much did you pay?"  
  
Was that a yes, yet?   
  
"Tell me, or I'll say no!"  
  
She wasn't serious, was she?  
  
"Okay, okay. It was a hundred galleons!" Ron said.  
  
"Ron! You idiot!" She shrieked. "Where'd you get the money?"  
  
Was money all she cared about?  
  
"I had some saved up." Ron said impatiently.   
  
There was a long awkward silence.   
  
"Did you just propose to me?" She asked him quietly.   
  
BLOODY HELL? WAS THIS GIRL EVER GOING TO GIVE HIM A DIRECT ANSWER?  
  
"Hermione Granger!" Ron said, his ears turning red. "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" He yelled. "WILL YOU TAKE MY LAST NAME, WILL YOU LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE AS ME, WILL YOU WEAR A WHITE GOWN AND STAND IN FRONT OF A CHURCH AND SAY WEDDING VOWS, WILL YOU GROW OLD WITH ME, WILL YOU MARRY ME?"  
  
Hermione looked shocked. Her bottom lip quivered and tears started to come down her cheeks.  
  
Damn it! Ron thought. Can't I do anything right?  
  
Hermione was shaking.  
  
"Hey, stop crying." He said quietly.   
  
"Is it okay if I say yes?" She asked him, wiping her eyes.  
  
BLOODY HELL, THIS GIRL WAS SO COMPLICATED!  
  
"Of course it is."   
  
"Okay." She said quietly. "Yes."  
  
It was Ron's turn to have the dumbstruck look on his face.  
  
"Did you just say yes to me? Did you just say that you'd marry me?"  
  
"Yes." She said, and then something lit up in her eyes. "Yes!" She said louder. "Yes!" She yelled louder then Ron did.  
  
She jumped up onto him and he was pushed back against the wall to keep his balance.   
  
Whoa. He had a wife.  
  
~-~-~-~-  
  
They walked back into the living room, just as Lupin was discovering that he had gotten a present filled with borken glass.  
  
"What happened to my cookies?" He asked Harry, who laughed at him. Lupin smiled at Tonks who looked angry still, but her hair had turned a seasonal red and green.  
  
"Did you two have fun?" asked Bill, who was laughing. "We heard yelling."  
  
"Y-yeah." Ron said distantly, taking a seat beside his mother, sighing.   
  
Hermione sat down next to Ginny, who was examining a book carefully.  
  
"Percy, what is this?" She asked.   
  
"Every law in the Wizarding World is listed in there." Percy said. "I thought you'd like to read it, as you may want to become a Ministry Worker."  
  
"Gee," Ginny said, heaving the gigantic book into her lap. "Thanks, Percy."  
  
"Ha! Ginny'll be ninety by the time she finishes that!" George laughed.   
  
Ginny opened the book and her eyes grew with horror when she saw how thin the pages are. She gave a weak smile to Percy, who was positively beaming at Ginny.   
  
"I'll read it, later." Ginny said, dropping the book on the floor.  
  
"Careful, Ginny!" Georeg said. "You'll cause an earthquake."  
  
"I don't appreciate that." Percy said, sharply. "Well, at least she'll be educated, unlike you two."  
  
"Hey, we're educated." Fred said.  
  
"Yeah, we make more money then you, old Percy!" George laughed. "And unlike you, we don't have to talk like a dictionary all the time."  
  
Percy glared at them, and looked away, as if to impress their inferiority.  
  
Ginny was looking at Hermione's hand curiously. She grabbed it and held it to her face.  
  
"S-something wrong, Ginny?" Ron asked, across the room.  
  
"Hermione, this is a georgeous ring! Do you know what this ring is?"  
  
"Er--" Hermione stuttered.  
  
"This ring is ultra rare! This thing is made of star dust!"  
  
"Star dust?" Questioned Harry, looking at the ring.  
  
"Yeah, it's really rare to find and one of these rings costs about five hundred galleons."  
  
Hermione ripped her hand away from Ginny and stood up, flaring at Ron.  
  
"You lied! You said it only cost one hundred!"  
  
Everyone was looking at Hermione, who was turning the most interesting shade of red.  
  
"What does it matter?" Ron said calmly, shrugging. "I had enough money."  
  
"Oh, Ron Weasley, I'm going to kill you!" Hermione said, groaning. "I'll pay you back."  
  
"HERMIONE!" Ron said, standing up. "You can't just pay me back for that ring!"  
  
"Why not?" Hermione said indignantly.   
  
"Er--Hermione?" Ginny said. "It seems to me you are wearing that ring on your, erm, ring finger."   
  
"Where else is a girl supposed to wear her--" Harry stopped and looked at Hermione and Ron, understanding.  
  
"Hehe..." Ron said nervously.   
  
Hermione turned a pink.  
  
"Oh, that's just adorable!" Tonks said, standing up. Her hair was now a light pink. "You two are such a cute couple!"  
  
Hermione shook her head and turned back to Ron, taking off the ring.  
  
"I'm not going to accept it until I pay for it!"  
  
"Hermione Granger, you are impossible!" Ron screamed.  
  
"You're the one that's impossible!"  
  
"What kind of girl gets an engagement ring and tries to pay for it?" Ron asked her, smirking.  
  
"Me, that's who!" Hermione said. "So you'd better get used to it, Ron Weasley!"  
  
Ron grabbed her hand and put the ring back on. "You are not going to pay me back."  
  
"Yes I am!"  
  
"No you're not!"  
  
"Am too!"  
  
"Are not!"  
  
"Am too!"  
  
"Are not!"  
  
"Am too!"  
  
"Am too!"  
  
"Are not!"  
  
Ron grinned. "Glad you see it my way, Hermione."  
  
Hermione opened her mouth shocked. "But, oh, you can't! Ron, it's too much!"  
  
"No, you're too much! You're way too much, Hermione Granger!" Ron said, laughing.  
  
George, Fred, Ginny, and Harry went over to congratulate Ron and Hermione, who were still arguing.  
  
However, Bill, Charlie and Percy looked at their parents who just looked at the group sadly.   
  
"You have to stop them." Percy said.  
  
"I can't, you know I can't!" Mrs. Weasley moaned.  
  
"The longer you wait, the more Ron will resent himself." Charlie said quietly.   
  
"But, they're so happy together!"  
  
Mr. Weasley sighed and rubbed the temples of his head.  
  
~-~-~-~-  
  
Five weeks. She had been engaged for five weeks. She was in an all natural high. She walked around the house, humming tunes, and smiling so happily at Ron that it was almost sickening. They were so much in love, it was unnatural.  
  
Mrs. Weasley refused to meet Hermione's gaze at all. She didn't want to look at her. It's not that she had anything against Hermione, her and Ron would make the perfect couple. She'd love to have another daughter, especially one like Hermione. But, oh, if she'd only chosen Harry!  
  
"We have to tell, Ron, Molly." Mr. Weasley said quietly.  
  
"B-but, they're so much in love!" sobbed Mrs. Weasley.  
  
"We should've told them Christmas Day. They've already started to make plans for their wedding. You know we can't let them get married."  
  
"Oh, Arthur, if only it was different! If only Hermione had fallen in love with Harry, she'd still be my almost daughter-in-law!"  
  
"Tonight, Molly. We have to tell him tonight."  
  
Mrs. Weasley sighed, and continued to stir her soup.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Ron was in the kitchen, grinning at Hermione, who was getting a cup of coffee. It was the middle of the night, and neither could sleep.   
  
"I want to go for a walk." Hermione sighed.  
  
"At this hour?" Ron asked, laughing. "You'll get eaten by a warewolf!"  
  
"Oh, don't be stupid, Ron. It's not a full moon." Hermione said, handing him a cup of coffee.   
  
"Ron, dear." Mrs. Weasley said, appearing in the doorway.  
  
"Oh, mum!" Ron said, turning around. "What are you doing up?"  
  
After much discussion, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley decided it was best that Mrs. Weasley tell Ron, rather then her husband. If Ron lost his temper, he couldn't hit his own mother, but with fathers, it sometimes differed.  
  
"I need to talk to you, Ron. If you don't mind, Hermione." She said, nodding to Hermione.   
  
"Oh, no." Hermione smiled. "I'll just, take that walk."   
  
Hermione's lips brushed against Ron's cheek and she left through the back door of the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley sat down at the dining table, hands on her head. Ron came and sat next to her, smiling widely.  
  
"Isn't Hermione grand?" He asked her. "She's so smart and--"  
  
"Ron, we need to talk about her." Mrs. Weasley said seriously.  
  
"What about Hermione?"  
  
"Ron, dear, you can't get married to her."  
  
"What?" Ron asked in disbelief. He stared at her for a few seconds then laughed. "Don't worry mum, I have some money saved up for the wedding. And if it's not enough, Hermione can pay for it."  
  
"It's not the money. It's Hermione."  
  
"What's wrong with Hermione?" Ron said, his voice getting slightly defensive.  
  
"She's, well, she's not like you."   
  
Ron laughed. "You can say that again. We're complete opposites! I mean she likes to read, and I like to sleep. She likes cold coffee, don't ask me why, and I like warm coffee like normal--"  
  
"Ron, she's a wonderful girl. And, I'd be honored to have her as a daughter in-law. But, it can't happen."  
  
"What? Is she my distant cousin or something?" Ron laughed. "That happens all the time on muggle soap operas. Hermione told me all about them. It's all about those quarrels muggles have. I'd like to watch one. Hermione says they're addictive, but I don't think--"  
  
"It's not Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley said, on the verge of tears.  
  
"But you just said it was Hermione!" Ron said, looking confused.   
  
"It's where she's from."   
  
"What? London?"  
  
"No, her parents..."   
  
"Do you have something against dentists?" Ron laughed. "Awful, they are. Don't worry, they won't be traveling to the Wizard Realm too often, I think."  
  
"RON!" Molly screamed, tears already coming down her eyes. "I love you with all my heart, but you can't, and you won't marry Hermione Granger!"  
  
"Mum, what's wrong with you? Do you have a fever?" Ron said, feeling her forehead.  
  
"Ron, she's a mudblood!" Molly covered her mouth with her hands, and looked away from Ron.  
  
Ron looked at her in disbelief. He'd always thought she'd thought as Hermione as her second daughter. And now she was putting her down because she was muggle born?  
  
"Don't you ever call her that." Ron said softly. "Don't you ever."  
  
"Ron, you are a pureblood."   
  
"Don't remind me." Ron scoffed.  
  
"Like it or not, our line of purebloods goes back before the Founders of Hogwarts. And, like it or not, you are a pureblood that will carry on the Weasley name."   
  
"What's wrong with Hermione carrying it on?"  
  
"She's a mud--"  
  
"Don't you dare!" Ron screamed. "Is she suddenly below us? You let me invite her into our house, you let me fall in love with her, what's wrong with me marrying her?"  
  
"Ron, I promised your father's grandmother on her death bed, that all the children I had would go on and continue the Weasley name!"   
  
"Hermione will carry it on just fine!"  
  
"Ronald Weasley!" Molly said. "Don't you understand? She's not like you. If you marry her, you'll be breaking everything that you stand for."  
  
"And what do I stand for, mum?" He asked. "I came from a poor family, who just managed to squeak by every year. You taught us that love was more important then our origin. But, now your saying I can't marry Hermione just because she is muggle born?"  
  
"Ron. She isn't good enough for you! And if you marry her, then you will be betraying everyone in this family! We have taken pride to be the only respectable pureblood family in the Wizarding World and we will uphold that title even if I have to find you a girl myself!"  
  
Ron stared hard at his mother. "I'm marrying her."   
  
"Ron, let me tell you something." She sat back down and grabbed his hand. "When I was sixteen, I was in love with a half-blood. His name was Albert. I loved him, and I was so sure that I'd found the right man for me. He proposed to me and I accepted. And then, my mother, she told me I couldn't. And, oh, Ron, it broke my heart! And, I left him. And, I felt so horrid for years! And, I met your father. And then, I realized, that if I married him, then everyone would be happy, including me."  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?" scoffed Ron.   
  
"Ron, sometimes, you have to give up something you love, to get something better."   
  
"I can't believe I'm hearing this from my own mother." Ron said, shaking his head.  
  
"She isn't good enough for you."  
  
"What--"  
  
There was a small wimper at the back door. Both of them turned around and saw Hermione, who had apparently been listening to the entire conversation. Her eyes held disbelief.   
  
"Hermione--"  
  
"I'm sorry." She said, her voice tight. "I shouldn't have eavesdropped."  
  
And then, she ran into the night.  
  
~-~-~-~-  
  
The pain seered in her chest. Her lungs were heaving, her heart was racing faster then it ever had. But, she didn't care. She just kept running.   
  
She's a mudblood!  
  
Hermione ran faster.  
  
"Hermione!" Ron yelled. "Damn that girl can run." He muttered to himself.  
  
He decided not to run, because he had to think. Why in the world would his mother tell him he couldn't marry Hermione? What was so bad about a pureblood marrying a muggle born? If marriages like that wouldn't have happened, then the Wizarding Race would've been dissolved. Would their children come out squibs if he married her? No, squibs were rare.   
  
"Hermione!"  
  
He kept walking, knowing she had come this way. The sun was breaking into the sky, over powering the moon. Ron sighed and kept going.  
  
He wasn't in his pajamas. Hermione was, though. He was up half the night talking to her about their wedding. How could ecstasy turn into terror within a few minutes?  
  
A field. An emtpy lot, surrounded by trees. There was a collapsed figure in the middle of it.  
  
"Hermione." Ron said, kneeling down beside her. "You aren't dead. I know your not."  
  
"I'm sorry, Ron." She whispered.  
  
"Don't you dare die!" Ron yelled. "If you die, I'll kill you!"  
  
Hermione sat up, her cheeks wet with tears.   
  
"Hey, I'm sorry about what you heard." He said. "I don't even understand what my mum's problem is."  
  
"She called me a mud--"  
  
"Don't, Hermione." He said. "You know, my mum is a good person. I just don't get why whould would say that."  
  
"She's a wonderful person, Ron." Hermione sighed. "And that's what bugs me. If a good person thinks I'm bad, then I must be horrid!"  
  
"Listen to me, stop crying, damn you!" Ron said, angrily.   
  
Hermione looked away.   
  
"I'm going to marry you. I don't care what my mum says, what my dad says, what anyone says. I'm going to marry you."  
  
Hermione was silent.  
  
"Did you really pay five hundred galleons for this thing?" She asked him.   
  
"No." Ron said, smiling. "I stole it from a gypsy."  
  
"Ron!" Hermione laughed. "Tell me the truth."  
  
"Yes, I spent five hundred galleons on Hermione Granger. But, mind you, you're to pay for the wedding."  
  
"Ron Weasley, your insane if you think I'm going to pay for the entire wedding."  
  
"Then I'll pay for it."  
  
"No! You'll overspend again!"  
  
"Okay, then I won't pay."  
  
"That's unfair!"  
  
"Is there no pleasing you?" Ron asked.   
  
"No. I guess not."   
  
~-~-~-~-  
  
"Where are Ron and Hermione?" Tonks asked at breakfast.   
  
Mrs. Weasley coughed politely and continued eating her breakfast. No one answered her.  
  
"They were up late last night." Ginny said. "Talking."  
  
Harry felt a little left out, but smiled.  
  
"They went down to get coffee around one in the morning." He said. "Insane people."  
  
The sqeaking back door opened and there stood Ron, his face dirty. Behind him walked Hermione, who was also very dirty, but in her pajamas.   
  
"Well, you two look like you had fun." Tonks laughed.  
  
"You shouldn't run off like that, Ron. We were worried." Bill said.  
  
"I bet you were." said Ron, starting to walk up the stairs, with Hermione following close behind, refusing to look at the table full of Weasley's.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bill asked.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
They all listened as they heard Ron and Hermione go upstairs and into seperate rooms.  
  
"I'd better go up and talk to him." Mr. Weasley said.  
  
"Don't you dare!" Ron yelled back from his room.  
  
"That was a bit of a nasty talk you gave him last night." Fred said coldly to his mother.  
  
"A bit prejudice if you ask me." George said.  
  
"I thought I told you, you are not to use those extendable ears in this house, in any house, anywhere at any time!" Mrs. Weasley said.  
  
"We'd do it again!" Fred said indignantly, standing up. "Hermione's a great girl, if you just got to know her."  
  
Harry and Ginny had no clue what was going on.  
  
"More pancakes, Tonks." Moody muttered, handing her the plate.  
  
"No, I'm fine." Tonks said, also looking down at the other end of the table.   
  
"Fred, George, hush." Mrs. Weasley said.  
  
Ginny looked at Bill questioningly. Bill gave her a weak smile and looked away, as if ashamed.  
  
"You can't hush us!" Fred said  
  
"We're not little children anymore."  
  
"Well, your acting like some." Percy said. "Mother did what she had to do, and how Ron handled it was unacceptable."  
  
"What's going on in this family?" Ginny asked them all, expecting an answer, looking at them all. "I know I'm the youngest, but I'm only a year younger then Ron, and if he has the right to know, then I do too!"  
  
They were all silent for a minute.  
  
"Mum and Dad told Ron he couldn't marry Hermione because she's a muggle born." George scoffed. "Its just as bad as the Malfoy's."   
  
Ginny was silent and Harry got up and left the table, angry at the world.   
  
"Well, I've lost my apetite." Lupin said, pushing back from the table.  
  
~-~-~-~-  
  
Harry sat on the floor, looking at Ron pace angrily back and forth, muttering angrily.  
  
"I want to hit something! I want to kill someone!" He yelled.  
  
"I don't think beating me to a pulp would make you feel any better." Harry said bitterly.  
  
"Ugh! I can't believe it!"   
  
Buckbeak reared its head and seemed snort at the two. Harry smiled a little at the creature and sighed. They had been in the room all day, refusing to come out, locking the door, resisting the aromas of food and the pleading of Tonks.  
  
"What time is it?" Ron asked Harry.  
  
"I dunno. Must be night, I don't hear anyone moving anymore."  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Hermione stood in the middle of Diagon Alley. All of the Witches and Wizards walked past her. She took a step forward, and suddenly ever person in the town looked at her.  
  
"Mudblood!" one screamed.  
  
"You'll never be good enough!"  
  
"Get out! Get out! Your a disgrace."  
  
They all had red hair.  
  
Hermione thrust her eyelids open and shot up in bed, and looked around. Ginny was sleeping soundly next to her. She sighed and climbed out of bed.  
  
Ron and Harry's room was empty. Their beds were still unmade from a few days ago. Boys. Hermione grabbed each of their pillows and made her way to Buckbeak's room.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
"Go away!" Ron said.  
  
The knock came again.  
  
"Get lost whoever you are. We don't want to talk to you."  
  
Hermione stood at the other side of the door, wanting to talk, but the tears were still caught in her throat.  
  
She knocked again.  
  
"Damn it, go away!" Ron said, opening the door. "Hermione."  
  
"I thought you two might want a pillow." She said, handing him the pillows.  
  
"Er--thanks." he said awkwardly.  
  
Hermione gave him a weak smile and began to walk away.   
  
"Hermione," Ron said softly. "Come on in."   
  
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose." She said.  
  
"No, it's okay." Ron said.  
  
~-~-~-~  
  
Hermione sat against the wall between the two boys. She sighed and looked at Harry.  
  
"What's wrong, Harry?"  
  
"I don't get it. Ron, how could your family accept me and Hermione and then, just, reject us all of a sudden?"  
  
"I'm not part of their family." Ron scoffed.  
  
Hermione looked at Ron for a long time, and she let the tears come down her cheeks. Ron put his arm around her and let her cry.  
  
"Ron." Harry said, sighing. "I think I'm in love with your sister."  
  
Ron smiled at Harry. "We could've been brothers."   
  
"Yeah, could've. And if Hermione married you, then we'd all be related."   
  
"Ginny Potter. It does have a slight ring to it." Ron said. "Look, I'm really sorry about my, er, family."  
  
"It's not your fault, Ron." Harry said.  
  
Harry sighed and leaned against Hermione's sideways form.   
  
They fell asleep.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
"Damn you!"   
  
Hermione woke up to find that she was alone on the floor, Harry and Ron were gone. Her head was rested on Ron's pillow and Harry's lay at her feet. Someone was yelling in the hallway, and something told her it wasn't one of the paintings.  
  
Hermione got up lazily and leaned against the door, looking at Buckbeak, who was still asleep, making a slightly retarded gafawing sound.  
  
"You are a disgrace. Mother and Father did the right thing."   
  
"Your the disgrace you bigheaded prat!"   
  
"You can't even come up with intelligent insults." Hermione imagined Percy throwing his eyebrows up in that superior way of his.   
  
"And you can't get over yourself! What about your girlfriend, Pinnochio?"  
  
"Her name is Penelope." Percy said, annoyed. "And I for one, think that you shouldn't marry that girl for another reason. She's been bringing you trouble since first year."  
  
"She's been bringing me trouble?" Ron snorted. "If anything, she was trying to get me out of trouble."  
  
"You are a very intelligent person, Ron." Percy said. "And I trust you have enough sense to leave that mudblood and stay true to your family."  
  
Hermoine had opened the door a smidge to see what was going on. Harry was holding Ron back, and was having a hard time.   
  
He stopped struggling.  
  
"What did you call her?"  
  
Oh, dear.  
  
"There is no need to be upset--"  
  
"Answer me straight, git!" Ron yelled. "What did you call her."  
  
"Calm down, Ron, calm down." Harry was saying.  
  
Hermione oepned the door all the way. Ron turned to her, his face all red.   
  
It's my fault, she thought bitterly. I'm the person responsible for turning Ron against his family. What right did I have to do that?   
  
"I called her a mudblood." Percy challenged.  
  
"Percy, shush!" Ginny said urgently.  
  
"Why you!" Ron broke out of Harry's grip and was on top of Percy within seconds.   
  
"Percy, Ron, STOP!" Ginny screamed.   
  
"Oh, let them fight, Ginny." Fred said.   
  
"Yeah, Percy had it coming." George said.  
  
"But, they'll kill each other!" Ginny said.  
  
"Let's hope Percy dies first." Fred said half heartedly.  
  
"Please stop them, Fred! Please stop them!"   
  
"Oh, fine." Fred sighed. "Bill, Charlie, get out here!"  
  
"STOP IT!" Ginny was yelling.   
  
Bill emerged from the room across the room, yawning. He rubbed his eyes groggily.  
  
"You guys make too much noise. Now shut up." He muttered.  
  
"I"ll kill you, you stupid git!" Ron was yelling.   
  
"Hey, that's enough!" Bill said, trying to pull ROn off of Percy, who was taking most of the hits.  
  
"What's gotten into you two?" Ginny moaned.  
  
Ron had Percy against the wall, strangling him.   
  
"Stop it, Ron." Hermione said quietly.   
  
Ron turned to look at Hermione, who was fiddling with the ring on her finger. He turned away from her.  
  
"Coward. You were always a tempermental child. I thought you were mentally retarded but--" Percy said.  
  
"SHUT UP!" Ron yelled.  
  
Percy seized his chance. He recoiled his fist and shoved it into Ron's face, knocking him to the ground. Percy looked down on his brother, satisfied, and then started to shake his hand.  
  
"Oh, my hand. Damn, how will I write? It's broken!" he groaned, rubbing his hand.  
  
Hermione walked over to Ron, who's nose was bleeding furiously. The blood spilled over his hands and onto his clothes.   
  
Harry looked at Ron feebly.   
  
"Don't just stand there you fool! Go get me a rag or something!" Hermione said.  
  
"God damn it, dat Percy." Ron muttered, holding his nose.  
  
"Shush, Ron." Hermione said quietlly.   
  
"Dis blood dastes nasty."  
  
"Ron, if you want your nose to bleed even more, then keep talking." Hermione said. "Oh, where is Harry?"  
  
Hermione put her pajama sleeve underneath Ron's nose, to absorb the blood. She sighed.  
  
"You'll get your pajama's dirty!" Ron said.  
  
"It's alright. I have more then one pair, you know." She smiled at him. "Why did you do that?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Beat Percy up, I don't mind being called a mudblood. It's just a name." She shook his head.  
  
"Just a dame?" Ron said. "Its an outrage, dat's what it dis!"   
  
Hermione was quiet for a while.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Ron and Percy had there fight, and Ron refused to speak with anyone that had red hair, even Ginny. Only speaking to Harry and Hermione, he seemed to be oblivious to the fact that his family was giving him sharp looks.  
  
Hermione on the other hand, tried to avoid making eye contact with the Weasley's. She blamed herself for what happened between them.   
  
Hermione sat in her room, folding on her clothes and putting them in her trunk.   
  
Ginny walked absently into the room and collapsed on her bed, sighing. She rolled over to look at Hermione.   
  
"What are you doing?" She asked her.  
  
"Packing."   
  
"Why? Where are you going? Does Ron know?"  
  
"No." Hermione said. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him."   
  
"But, Hermione, where are you going?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"When are you leaving?"  
  
"As soon as I'm done packing."  
  
"When will that be?"  
  
"In fifteen minutes."  
  
"Hermione, you'll break Ron's heart!" Ginny said.  
  
"It's for the best." She said.   
  
~-~-~-  
  
Ginny went down to the kitchen to have a cup of coffee. Coffee made her feel older, more sophisticated. She hated the taste, but she loved the smell.   
  
Ron came in the room and sat down next to her.  
  
"Where's Hermione? I haven't seen her all day."  
  
"Nice to see you talking to me." Ginny said coldly.  
  
"Hey, I'm sorry about that." Ron said smiling. "I guess I was just tired of everyone ragging on Hermione and Harry."   
  
Ginny bit her lip.  
  
"Hey, Ginny, you want to be the Maid of Honor at our wedding?" He asked her, smiling.   
  
Ginny bit her lip harder.  
  
"We've picked out this wonderful dress for you. It's--"  
  
"She's leaving, Ron!" Ginny yelled.   
  
"Who is?" Ron asked.  
  
"Hermione, I was just upstairs and she's packing. She's leaving in fifteen minutes!"  
  
"What?" Ron stood up.  
  
"She told me not to tell you, but I had to, Ron." Ron was already halfway up the stairs. "Tell her not to be mad!" She yelled after him.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Ron yanked the door open to Hermione and Ginny's room but saw nothing except Ginny's colorful bedspread. The bed beside the bedspread was empty, just a matress and a pillow. The pictureframes beside the bed were gone, and the poster of The Chudley Cannons was gone.  
  
"Hermione!" Ron said, running room to room.   
  
He descended the steps, to the front hall, where Hermione stood, with the front door open, getting ready to leave. She looked to the floor, ashamed to meet his eyes.  
  
"Hermione, what's wrong, where are you going?"  
  
"Away." She said.  
  
"For how long?"  
  
"Forever." she mumbled.  
  
"Hermione, you can't! I mean, we're supposed to get married."  
  
Hermione looked at him sadly and took the ring off of her finger. She put it in his big palm and closed his fingers around it.  
  
"I-I love you, Ron. But, your family, they love you more then I could ever."  
  
"What are you talking about? They don't--"  
  
"Yes they do!" Hermione said. "You mean everything to them. And I'm sure, even though you won't admit it, they mean everything to you."   
  
"Hermione, you can't!"  
  
"No, Ron. It's you who can't. You can't turn your back on your family just for me. I won't let you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Ron, your family is a bunch of wonderful people. You can't disapoint all of them just for one girl."  
  
"Yes, I can. Your not going anywhere!" Ron said, leaning against the door.  
  
Hermione smiled at him as the tears poured out of her eyes. He took her hand and put the ring back on her finger.  
  
Hermione looked at it and took it off again. She put it back in Ron's hand.  
  
"You give it to a girl that your family loves. You give it to a girl that you love. And when she puts that ring on, I want you to forget all about me. Like I never was in your life."  
  
"You're insane! I'm not going to do that!"  
  
The two didn't notice the crowd gathering behind them. Moody opened his mouth to speak, but Tonks shushed him.  
  
"Yes, you are. You're going to fall in love with this gourgeous girl with flowing straight hair and pureblood. And then you're going to give her that ring and have little children with red hair."   
  
"Your not going anywhere!" Ron repeated. "You wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for my good for nothing family."  
  
Ron heard a slap. And then, he felt a pain through his cheek. "Don't you ever say that about your family again. Don't you dare!" Hermione said dangerously.  
  
"But, Hermione!" Ron moaned. "I don't get it, I thought we were in love!"  
  
"I do love you. I love you so much, I'm leaving you. Nothing should come between you and your family, especially me. And Ron, as your best friend, as your former girlfriend and as your life time lover, I'm leaving you."  
  
"You can't!"  
  
"When I'm old and wrinkly, when I throw rocks at kids on the street and yell for them to get off my lawn, I'll do it in your name. I'll never forget you, Ron Weasley."  
  
Hermione kissed his cheek and opened the door.  
  
"You can't!" Ron repeated.  
  
"I know I can't." Hermione said quietly. "But I have to."   
  
"Don't, Hermione, please? We can elope, I'll buy you a cheaper ring, I'll do anything!" Ron begged.  
  
Hermione smiled at him, her tears stilll falling. "I love you." she said, hugging him.   
  
"Then don't go." Ron said.   
  
"Goodbye, Ron." She said, walking out to the yellow cab parked on the sidewalk, waiting for her.   
  
Ron ran outside on the sidewalk as the cab pulled away. Hermione looked out the back window and blew him a kiss.  
  
She was gone. 


	2. Falling Stars

Falling Stars  
  
Ron Weasley paced back and forth in the hallway, listening to the repeated screams. He shook his head. She was beautiful, she had glowing chocolate brown hair and a figure so slim it was mistaken for anerexia. She had a beautiful voice and she was a pureblood. She was perfect.   
  
But she wasn't Hermione.  
  
Ron sighed, and contineud to pace. Sure, he had fallen in love with Louise from the first time he laid eyes on her, but, even though he'd never admit it, he was still in love with that bushy haired girl that he'd known for eight years of his life.   
  
A blizzard raged outside, and all of the midwives were either on vacation or couldn't make it through the storm. Harry was in the other room trying to reach one.   
  
Ron sighed. It was going to be a long night.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Back and forth, back and forth. Being a midwife's apprentice isn't exactly glamerous work you know, you have to do other things, like mop, and sweep and organize. I only gave my master her supplies during birthing, such as towels and such. I was pretty lowly, because all I did was clean up afterwards.  
  
I had been pretty low on cash this winter. Babies apparently don't favor to be born in Winter, they'd wait until it's warmer. They'd wait until I was just a bag of bones. Damn babies. But, why should I blame tiny little infants for my starvation? Because I can, that's why.   
  
Well, I was mopping the floor of the Clinic. A blizzard fell outside. Looks like I'll have to spend another night sleeping on the Waiting Room Couch. I put the mop back in the closet and walked back over the clean floors with just my socks on. A girl takes pride in things she's just cleaned.  
  
The phone rang.  
  
Ah, a baby is born in Winter! And it chooses five minutes after my Master leaves to be born. Damn child.  
  
"Hello?" I say.  
  
"Oh, thank goodness!"   
  
I almost dropped the phone. That voice on the other line, it was Harry's. My best friend, that I had left behind five years ago was calling the Clinic. Had they tracked me down? Were they looking for me?  
  
"We need a Midwife. My best friend's wife is going to have triplet's any minute now and--" There was a scream in the background.  
  
Well, I can put two and two together. Ron got married, he slept with another girl and was going to have red headed children to carry on the Weasley name of Pureblood. I had told him to. He did exactly what I said, for once.  
  
But, why did it hurt so much?  
  
"I'm no midwife." I said in a slightly depressed tone. "I'm just her Apprentice. The midwife should be back in a couple of days."  
  
"Are you kidding?" Harry said. "Louise will have had the babies by then."  
  
Louise. What a beautiful name, no way it could've compared with Hermione.   
  
"Is your name Harry Potter?" I asked him. I knew the answer. I guess I just had to make sure.  
  
"Yes, it is. How did you--"  
  
"Harry." I said, choking on my tears. "It's Hermione. Hermione Granger, from school?"  
  
"Hermione?!" He practically yelled into the phone.   
  
"Yeah." I sighed. "Louise, is she prettier then me?"  
  
"Oh, sure, she has all that outer beauty." Harry scoffed. "I guess that's what Ron fell for, but she can be a whiny brat. I, personally can't stand her. But, she makes Ron and his family happy, so what's to argue with?"  
  
I smiled. Yes, this was Harry. "Is she smart?"  
  
"Dumb as a Troll." Harry laughed. "Barely made it through school. She went to Beauxbatons."  
  
"Oh, a second Fleur?" I said.   
  
"Not quite. She's got no Veela in her, even though she might as well."  
  
"I see."  
  
There was another scream.  
  
"Look, Hermione, do you know any Midwives that are available."  
  
"Harry, there are none near The Burrow. There are no Midwives, they've all left."  
  
"That's just great." muttered Harry.  
  
"Harry." I said, pushing the tears back down my throat. "I could deliver the baby."  
  
Harry was silent. "Are--are you sure? I mean, these are Ron's children."  
  
"I know." And it hurt.  
  
"Hermione, are you sure your going to be okay with this?"   
  
"Yes, of course." I said. "I'll be there twenty-two seconds."  
  
I hung up on Harry. Delivering Ron's child. Delivering Ron and 'Louise's' child. Delivering a child that's half dumb and half stupid. Two guesses one whether or not its a genius. I grabbed Martha's medicine bag and apparated away.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
"Did you find one Harry?" Ron said, grabbing Harry's shoulders. "Please tell me you did!"  
  
Harry was quiet. "I did, but Ron, you have to know something, about the midwife."  
  
"What? Is she a ghost or something."  
  
"I wish." Harry scoffed.   
  
"What? Is the Midwife pregnant?" Ron asked.  
  
"Ron, I called the clinic and the Apprentice answered. She said she'd be able to deliver the baby, but I still doubt it."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Ron, the Midwife--"  
  
"Out with it!" Ron yelled.  
  
"It's Hermione."  
  
"H-Hermione?" Ron stuttered.  
  
"Hermione, as in the one that left you. She took up being an Apprentice a few years ago." Harry said. "She's going to deliver your children."  
  
Ron didn't say anything, but sank in the nearest armchair.  
  
CRACK  
  
A girl dressed in clothes that might've been mistaken for peasant clothes apparated into the room. She carried a rather large bag and her hair was tied up. She gave them both a small smile.  
  
"Right. So where is she?" She asked in a serious tone.  
  
"Hermione, are you sure your up to this?"  
  
"If you ask me again, I might change my mind." She said angrily. "Now where is she?"   
  
~-~-~-  
  
He hadn't changed. He was still Ron. I held back a smile and followed him to his old room.   
  
She was giving birth in his old room?  
  
Well, I must admit, even though Louise was sweating like a hog, she was beautiful. She screamed again.  
  
Honestly, most women don't start screaming until they're actually giving birth.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
How I survived that child birth? Well, that's just something that no one will ever know, even me. To hold back the tears, I just pretended that Louise was Ginny and I was birthing Harry's child. And then, I would see Ron's worried face, worried about his wife.   
  
His wife that wasn't me.  
  
I didn't want to look at the baby. I wiped it with my apron and wrapped it up with my apron and gave it to the mother, who looked at me gratefully. Her bold gray eyes so innocent.  
  
Something that my mud eyes would never do.  
  
I gathered my supplies and left the room. I couldn't apparate, my wand had frozen on the way here. I'd walk, it was only a hundred miles.   
  
I'd hopefully freeze to death.  
  
"Well? How is she?" Ron asked, coming up to me.   
  
"She's not dead." I said sarcastically.  
  
Ron's eyes widened.   
  
"No, Ron." I said, smiling. "They're both fine."  
  
He walked past me and into the room, followed by his family.   
  
~-~-~-  
  
They put the baby down after two hours, to let it have its rest. I'm not sure if they named it. I wanted to leave.  
  
"Never leave without being paid." Martha told me.  
  
I had used up her painkillers, something she told me never to touch, but Louise just kept screaming for them. I'd like a pain killer right now. I needed to go to Diagon Alley and buy some more, as I'd probably be fired if I didn't.  
  
Louise emerged first, holding her husband's hand.   
  
"Shouldn't you get some sleep, Louise?" Harry asked her.  
  
"No, I'm fine." She laughed, then she saw me and ran up to me, smiling. "Thank you so much, ma'am."   
  
She studied me for a minute. She looked me over from my bush of hair to my torn up boots.   
  
"You're young." She said. "How old are you?"  
  
That was a good question. I never really celebrated birthdays anymore, I just let them pass, knowing I'd be glad when I could drop down dead and forget about this pitiful world. Let's see, Ron would be twenty-three in a few months, so that would make me...  
  
"Twenty-two, ma'am." I answered. I sounded like a servant. Well, that's what I was really, a servant.  
  
"Really?" She turned to Ron. "You have to pay her extra Ron. Midwives are usually old widows who are grieving for their dead husbands, and she's so young! Just a few sickles more."  
  
Oh, but my dear, I am an old widow grieving for my dead husband that I never had. If only you knew...  
  
"That's not necessary, ma'am." I said, my pride still fighting with me emotion inside of me. "No charge."   
  
"What? But we have to pay you! You came in a blizzard!" Louise proposed.  
  
"I insist, it is free." I said. I just couldn't stand to be in tha thouse any longer, with all of those people with red hair staring at me, knowing exactly who I was, what I had done, and refusing to acknowledge it.  
  
"She's an old family friend." Ginny spoke up.   
  
"I-I have to go." I stuttered, opening the front door. A gush of cold air flew in.  
  
Let's face it, my clothes aren't exactly fit for a Queen. They were rags, since I was just cleaning before they called me. My boots were the light ones, since I figured I could've apparated.   
  
Maybe I would freeze to death, after all.  
  
"You're not thinking of walking home, are you?" Harry asked me.  
  
"My wand froze." I said simply.   
  
A hand closed the door.   
  
"You'll freeze to death." Ron said, looking at me.   
  
Good! I wanted to yell at him. Let me freeze.  
  
I didn't say anything. What's a lowly servant girl to say?  
  
"Can she stay here, Mrs. Weasley? Just for one night?" Louise asked Mrs. Weasley.  
  
"Of course." Mrs. Weasley said, not looking me in the eye.  
  
"Oh, you must try some of Mrs. Weasley's cooking!" Louise said, taking my hand. "It's wonderful!"  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Awkward. Yes, it was awkward, sitting there, with Louise, Harry and all of Ron's family. I gave up everthing for Ron, and I wanted it to be like this, but I never wanted to see it happen or anything. I just wanted to remember the way things were before.   
  
"What's your name?" Louise asked me.  
  
"Hermione." I said. "Hermione Granger."  
  
"Are you a squib?" She asked me.  
  
I saw Harry bite back a laugh. Well, Squibs were usually Apprenticed.   
  
"No." I said.   
  
"Did you go to Hogwarts?" She asked me.  
  
Did I got to Hogwarts? Did I got to Hogwarts? Excuse me, I saved Hogwarts on seven different occasions! Hogwarts was my home for seven years!   
  
"Yes." I said quietly.   
  
"Did you see Harry and Ron while you were there?" She asked me.   
  
No, I didn't see them. I just blindfolded myself for seven years and walked around the castle. Honestly!  
  
"We, knew each other." I said simply.  
  
"Really? Ron's never mentioned you before. In fact," she turned to Ron. "he's never mentioned anything about his school days before. Were you guys friends or something?"  
  
Oh, the best of friends! We defeated the Dark Lord together! But, maybe that didn't mean anything now.  
  
"You could say that." I said.   
  
"Oh, please!" She grasped my hand. "Tell me about Ron and Harry and Ginny in Hogwarts! They'd never mention it for some reason! I am itching to know!"  
  
I turned to Harry who had a look of confusion on his face. Ginny stared at her soup. They didn't want to mention me. They didn't want to remember me.   
  
Suddenly, I thought of Weasley is Our King. Oh, that tune still rings in my head. I chuckled a little.   
  
"There's too much to tell." I said, smiling at her.   
  
"Oh, please! Ron wouldn't tell me, I need to know!"   
  
Talk about a nosey girl.  
  
"Was Ron a good student? I bet he was top of his year every year!"   
  
I almost dropped the water glass I was holding. Ron? Top of his year? What's next? Dobby, the next Headmaster of Hogwarts?  
  
"He was a good student." I said.  
  
"Oh, your leaving out too much, you have to tell me more! Tell me everything!"   
  
"I don't like to live in the past." I said simply.   
  
"Please, please please?" She begged.  
  
Bloody hell!   
  
"Ron was on the Quidditch Team." I said.   
  
"Really? Was he good?"  
  
"Are you kidding me?" My spirits rose. "They dedicated an entire song to him."   
  
"No, really?" She turned to Ron, who nodded meekly.  
  
"Weasley is our King." I laughed. "I believe that was it."  
  
"Really?" Louise smiled. "What about you?"  
  
"What about me?" I scoffed.   
  
"Well, were you on the Quidditch Team?"  
  
"No." I said.   
  
"Well, you must've done something. That's amazing though, Ron could be intelligent and play Quidditch!"  
  
Harry released his laughter.   
  
"You left a few details off of that story, Hermione." He said.   
  
I smiled.   
  
"Oh, Ron!" she turned to her husband. "I can't believe you never mentioned Hermione before, she's charming!"   
  
"I guess it slipped my mind." He mumbled.   
  
It slipped mine, too, Ron. It slipped mine. At night, I'd cry over him, and then wake up, my pillow wet and I had forgotten what I'd been crying about. It just slipped my mind.  
  
Yeah, right. Give me a break.  
  
"Did Ron help you with your homework?" she asked.  
  
Did he--WHAT?   
  
"No, I did it by myself." I said indignantly.   
  
"Well, once or twice, didn't he help you?"  
  
I passed Hogwarts because Ron Weasley helped me with my homework. Ha! That's a laugh.  
  
"Once or twice." I said to satisfy her.   
  
"Ron, you never told me you were a genius!"   
  
I know why he didn't tell her he was a genius. Because it would be a bold faced lie.   
  
Ginny giggled.   
  
"I guess it just slipped my mind." He mumbled.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
They had all gone to bed, except Harry, Ron and I. We sat in silence, not knowing what to say, not knowing the appropiate action.   
  
"Hermione, how could you?"  
  
"How could I what?"  
  
"How could you talk about everything like you never left me?" He asked.  
  
"Well, she asked."  
  
"Well, you didn't have to answer."  
  
"You're right." I said. "I should've gotten up when she started begging and walked back through one hundred miles of blizzard."   
  
"That's not what I meant." He said quietly.  
  
"Ron," I said quietly. "She's really beautiful."  
  
"Yeah." He mumbled.  
  
"I wonder how she gets her hair like that." I said absentmindedly.   
  
"I don't know." Ron said.   
  
Louise came down the stairs, in her night dress. What a slim figure!   
  
"Coming to bed, dear?"  
  
"In a minute." Ron said.  
  
She nodded and smiled, starting to go up the stairs.  
  
"Louise." I stopped her. "C-could I see your engagemnt ring?"  
  
"Certainly!" She said, giving me her hand.  
  
I felt the tears coming on. "Do you know what this is?" I asked her, smiling.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Star dust."   
  
"Oh, that's nice." she said, walking up the steps.  
  
I stood there, Ron and Harry staring at my back. I turned around, with the tears coming down my cheeks. I walked over and put my arms around Ron.  
  
"I told you so!" I said.  
  
"Told me what?"   
  
"I told you that you could do better then me!"   
  
"What?"  
  
"Honestly, Ron!" I said, wiping the tears away hastily. "Look at her, she's gourgeous! And that ring fits better on her finger then it ever did on mine."  
  
"Stop it!" Ron said, standing up. "Stop acting like your happy, just stop!"   
  
I was silent for a minute.   
  
"How can you be happy for me? After you left, my family said you did the right thing. And, they respected you. I fell for her looks, Hermione. Doesn't that bother you?"  
  
"You want the truth?" I asked him, my voice shaking.  
  
"Yes, I want the truth."  
  
"I hate her!" I said. "She's absurdly dumb, she's probably the daughter of God with those looks! And, Ron, she's so skinny! I can't believe she could even deliver that baby without breaking all of the bones in her hips!"  
  
"Is that all?" Ron asked me.  
  
"What do you want me to say, Ron? Do you want me to say that I wish I was her, with her silver eyes, with her slim figure, with her chocolate brown hair with highlights that glow in the dark? Do you want me to tell you that you are the stupidest most materialistic person inthe world? Do you want me to say that?"  
  
"Hermione--"  
  
"Hermione what? What do you want now?" I scowled, turning away.  
  
"Why did you come back?"  
  
"To deliver a baby, of course." I said.  
  
"But, why you? I mean, why couldn't they find any other midwife?"  
  
"Ron, if you wanted your kid to die, then by all means, go up there and choke your baby to death! If you wanted your wife to die, then by all means, go upstairs and perform Avada Kadavra on her, I won't stop you!"   
  
"Hermione, why did you want to deliver my child?"  
  
"Because you're an idiot!" I yelled at him.  
  
"That makes no sense!"  
  
"No, you make no sense, Ron Weasley!"  
  
"It's you!"  
  
"It's you!"  
  
"It's you!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"Me!"  
  
"Me..!"  
  
Damn it, had I fell for that again? I can't believe, what's that, the second damn time I fell for that dumb thing. Ron got that dopey grin on his face.  
  
"Glad you see it my way."  
  
"Ugh!" I turned away from him.   
  
"Will you two shut up?" Harry said, breaking his silence. He sighed and started up the stairs. "I'm going to bed."  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Ron and I sat there, not looking at each other, not saying anything. It was awkward.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Don't start that." I said.  
  
"Why did you leave me?"  
  
I sighed, the pain, it was so real, like it had happened yesterday.   
  
"Because I love you."  
  
"Then why did you leave me?"  
  
"Because--" I grabbed his hand. "Because I didn't want you to go against your family. Nothing should come in between you and your family, and it wasn't going to be me."  
  
"But, Hermione!"  
  
"But nothing, Ron Weasley!"  
  
"Is it because I was poor?"  
  
"What?!"   
  
"I was poor, I was in debt, is that why you left?"  
  
"Bloody hell, are you deaf?" I sighed. "I would rather marry you then some rich bastard."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because, Ron, you have this stupid grin..."  
  
"You love me because I have a stupid grin?"  
  
"Yes! That's why I love you!" I said, the tears springing from my eyes. "Because you have that red hair, because your dopey and clumsy and unorganized and--"  
  
He pulled me. His hand was on the back of my head and he had pulled my face into his. And all of those old emotions that I thought had rotted and decomposed came back, new and as fresh as ever before.  
  
And I kissed back.  
  
He leaned back, that grin on his face, as if he was satisfied.   
  
"Why did you do that?" I asked him.  
  
"Because--"  
  
"Wait, don't answer that!" I said, getting up and grabbing Martha's bag from the table. "You are a married man!"   
  
"But--"  
  
"No!" I snapped. "If you want to kiss someone, your wife is up there, go snog her to death, but you can't ever kiss me again!"  
  
"Why?" Ron asked me getting up, the tears already evident in his eyes. "Hermione, why?"  
  
"Because!" I screamed, the tears still coming. I grabbed his hand. "Because of this!"  
  
A gold wedding ring encircled his ring finger.   
  
And my fingers, they suddenly felt so naked, so bare.   
  
"Hermione..."  
  
"That's who I am!" I said. "I'm Hermione Granger, Hermione Granger, you hear? Granger!"   
  
"I know who you are." And then, he put his arms around me. He put his cursed arms around me and gave me that feeling of safety, that false sense of love.  
  
I didn't belong here.  
  
"Really?" I whispered. "Could you please tell me."  
  
"What?" He backed away.  
  
"I don't know who I am anymore, Ron. I just don't."   
  
"Hey, stop crying, you." Ron said, smiling that dopey grin.   
  
"I can't..." I said.   
  
And I couldn't.  
  
~-~-~-~-  
  
The snow layed calmly on the ground, and my wand had thawed, leaving it not frozen and rigid. I stood there, with my medicine bag, staring at Harry, Ron, Louise and Ginny.   
  
If I could smile, I would've.  
  
"Thank you." I said, more to my feet then anyone.  
  
"Hey, no problem." Ginny sad, patting me on the shoulder.  
  
And then, the next minute we were hugging, Ginny and I. We were in a sisterly embrace. No, not sisterly. We would never be sisterly.   
  
Never.  
  
"Thank you, again." Louise said, her smile gleaming at my eyes.   
  
That smile...  
  
"Well, Goodbye Harry."  
  
Why I only said goodbye to Harry? I don't know. I'll never know because I never meant to say anything.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
I was out of the door, wanting to apparate. I took my wand and waved it. I wondered why I wasn't going anywhere, but then I realized that I wasn't saying the correct spell.   
  
"It's Leviosa, not Leviosar." I muttered to myself, smiling slightly.   
  
~-~-~-  
  
I didn't go back to the Clinic, I took Martha's Medicine bag and went to Hogsmeade. I went into Zonko's, the old joke shop, where Ron had spent all of his time. I walked around, in my peasant shoes making a sweeping sound as I wandered through the eyes.  
  
I walked into an aisle that said, "Joke Pets". They made jokes out of poor defenseless animals! Barbaric! And then, I saw an old abandoned rat, looking up with these scared yellow eyes.  
  
Scabbers.  
  
I opened the door to the cage. I knew the rat couldn't be Scabbers, but for some reason, that rat gave me comfort.  
  
Comfort from a rat. What a peasant I am.  
  
"Hey, you." I said, holding him in my hands.   
  
Then, the rat began to morph and change until it became the body of...  
  
"RON!" I screamed. "You never told me you were an animagus! Are you registered?"   
  
And then, he took me in his arms, his big strong arms and he kissed me. And this time, I didn't resist. I melted into that embrace.   
  
~-~-~-  
  
"Ma'am? Ma'am, what's your name?"  
  
"Wha-what?" I asked, sitting up. How the hell did I end up in St. Mungo's.  
  
"We've given you painkillers."  
  
"Painkillers?" I spat. "I'm in no pain. I have to go, I have to get back to the Clinic..."  
  
"No." The man restrained me. "You were found in Knockturn Alley, you'd taken an overdose of painkillers."  
  
"I wouldn't do something so stupid!" I protested. "Now I have to go Diagon Alley, I've got to buy more pills.."  
  
"You've had enough pills, ma'am."  
  
"I don't mean those you damned idiot!" I said, getting angry. "They're for Martha."  
  
"Martha who?"   
  
"Martha, the midwife? I'm an apprentice."  
  
"We've kept a record of you, your a peasant. You scrub the floors of Hogwarts in the summer."  
  
"Honestly!" I scowled. "Who are you, go away! I don't know you! I'm Hermione Granger, Apprenticed!"  
  
"We know who you are Ms. Granger. Is there anyone we can call to inform you of your injury?"  
  
"I'm not hurt you fools!" The man was still restraining me.   
  
"Is there anyone we can call?"  
  
Ron. Call Ron, tell him I'm hurt! Tell him I'll die! My head was screaming.  
  
"There's no one." I murmured, laying back down.   
  
The years, had they passed in a dream? I was a midwife, and I was in Zonko's, and then, it was all black...all gone...there was a giant void where the memories once were.  
  
"Who are these people?" The man asked, holding up a picture.   
  
Ron and Harry waved at me, captured in a black and white photograph.   
  
Damn it, they searched my robes.  
  
"No one." I said grabbing at the picture. I took it and held it.   
  
"Who are they? If you do not tell us, then we will be forced to put you in a psychiatric ward."  
  
Was I crazy?   
  
"Ron and Harry." was all I said.  
  
And then, the pain killer had its effect. Everything seemed so peaceful all of the sudden and I fell asleep.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
Ron was looking down at me. I was awake, but I was afraid I was still dreaming. So many things weren't real anymore.   
  
I might as well give up.  
  
"Hey, you." He said quietly.   
  
"Ron? Did they call you here?" I asked him, sitting up.  
  
"Yeah, they did." he smiled. I noticed Harry in a chair next to him, his head titled back as he snored.  
  
"Tell them this is absurd!" I said angrily. "I mean, one minute I'm in Zonko's, and the next I'm in this damned place being told I'm some sort of peasant!"   
  
"I know." Ron said, stroking my face. "I know."  
  
"Ron, where's Louise?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Louise, your wife?"  
  
"Hermione, I don't have a wife." He said, a puzzled look on his face.   
  
He--WHAT? I had dreamed the whole thing. I had dreamed my entire life away. I was dreaming. It was all a dream.   
  
"Ron." I said. "Is this a dream?"  
  
"No, Hermione, this is real life."   
  
"No, it's a dream." I said. "It's all been a dream. I'm dreaming. How long have I been dreaming, Ron?"  
  
"Hermione, your not dreaming anymore."   
  
"Ron, what's today? How old am I? What's tomorrow?"  
  
"Calm down." Was all he said.  
  
"I can't calm down!" I yelled. "I think I dreamed away five years of my life!"  
  
"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Ron asked. "Your cab, it crashed. They couldn't find your body. You were found a few months later in Knockturn Alley."  
  
"Ron." I said, grabbing his hand. "Are you sure this isn't a dream?"   
  
"It's not a dream."  
  
"Yes it is!" I whined.   
  
"Hermione, you're awake." He said. After a few moments, he asked. "What did you dream?"   
  
"I dreamed I was a midwife, and you got married and I had to deliver your child. And then I went into Zonko's and you were a rat..."   
  
Ron laughed. "You have a wild imagination, you know that?"   
  
"And your mum, she didn't want you to marry me, because I was muggle born." He was quiet. "That was a dream, wasn't it?"   
  
More silence.  
  
"Tell me it was!" I screamed.   
  
"Hermione...it was real."   
  
"Nothing is real." I said quietly.   
  
What could I believe? I had dreamed up five years of sweat and pain and greif.   
  
How do I know I'm not dreaming now?  
  
"It's not real, Ron. It just isn't!"   
  
He put his arms around me.   
  
"Will you still marry me?"  
  
"No." I said, pulling away. "Your family--"  
  
"Hermione!" Ron said. "You shouldn't care."  
  
"Well I do!"  
  
I layed myself back down. A nurse came to my side and injected something into my arm. Whatever it was, it seemed to have an immeidate effect because the next thing I knew I was drifting off to sleep again.  
  
~-~-~-  
  
So what?  
  
So what if it was a dream now? It's alright. Because, I stood there, looking at the stars. Ron was beside me, and we were eleven. We weren't in love.   
  
It was simple.  
  
And it was perfect. 


End file.
